


i'm going crazy (all because of you)

by differentdiff



Category: BTOB, 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Kissing, M/M, Mild Fluff, happy new year's guys, it gets a lil heated ?? but idk, like two other characters are mentioned but u find out who they are, my longest fic yet, oh yea joon's there for a gud ten sec, this was 24 pages that's great
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-31
Updated: 2017-12-31
Packaged: 2019-02-24 14:16:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13215519
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/differentdiff/pseuds/differentdiff
Summary: namjoon's got himself stuck at the hospital for the next three months, leaving ilhoon with new employee taehyung





	i'm going crazy (all because of you)

**Author's Note:**

> hello it's me i'm back again w another crack ship this be a whole 8k can u fckn believe that lma o n the title isn't a song lyric or maybe it is but i didn't base it off one so
> 
> this story takes place in southern cali btw since that's where i live and therefore i'm more familiar with it dsdfkdfaldfkj
> 
> sorry that y'all don't see all the members but i can barely handle like 4 so that's just smth i gotta work on
> 
> speaking of working on things and making life better for u and every1 around u, happy new year !!! this story takes place from oct-dec 2017 so take that as u will
> 
> hope u hoes enjoy

ilhoon was currently the only employee at the tailoring shop. he wasn’t the owner, but he had to act like it because there was no one else on board. the real owner was an old friend of his that happened to find him just in time (in need of a job), but the owner’s clumsy nature got him stuck in the hospital for the next three months, so here ilhoon is.

he wouldn’t necessarily describe himself as a hard worker, but it’s not like he’s a low effort guy, either. it’s just a little bit lucky that the shop is small and little to no customers came in daily, otherwise he’d probably be overwhelmed as a one-man job.

today was supposedly like every other day. three people came in — two of them needed a suit fixed, the third one just browsing through the clothes the owner had made himself to sell — and ilhoon figured that would be it for the day, deciding to kick back. he was surprised, though, to find a fourth person come through the door.

ilhoon sat up quickly, taking his feet off the counter and putting aside the sandwich he was eating. “welcome,” he said, wiping his mouth, “how can i help you today?”

the person — a man with shaggy hair, equally long earrings, and big, bright eyes — smiled politely. “hi,” he said, “is namjoon kim here?”

“ah, no, sorry, namjoon’s just gotten himself three months at the hospital,” ilhoon replied.

the man sighed, looking up at the ceiling. his earrings sparkled as they caught the sunlight from the window. “that’s just like him, huh…”

“you a good friend of his?”

“yep, even came down from upstate to see him since he said he had a job for me.”

ilhoon raised his eyebrows. “a job?”

“mhm, at this shop. i’ve been looking for one for a while now, and i’ve always had an interest in fashion anyway. i mean, look at me.”

ilhoon looks. he’s wearing a loose and roomy floral dress shirt. the top two buttons are undone, leaving a slight view of his sharp collarbones and long neck where a necklace lie. the shirt is tucked in to a pair of what looks like black slacks (ilhoon could only see so much from his position behind the counter). strangely, a necktie was tied in place of a belt. different neckties hung from it, as well as a watch. ilhoon blinked.

“i can… see it, i guess,” he tells the man. “anyway, what did namjoon say to you about the job?”

“well, he told me first that not many people came in and out of the store, so he didn’t want to guarantee that i’ll get anything out of it. he then went on to say that only he and his friend worked here, so the more the merrier for when the shop gets too quiet.” 

ilhoon leans back in his seat and ponders. on one hand, he quite likes the quiet because at least he can hear his own thoughts — with what it’s usually like when his friends come over to his shared apartment, he needs it — but, then again, with the lack of customers, it gets boring really easily. the days when he brings something to do are days where he doesn’t want to do anything, and vice versa. 

suddenly, something clicks in his head. “how about this,” ilhoon proposes, “i’ll interview you in namjoon’s place, and we’ll see if you’re fit for the job.”

 

 

the man’s name is taehyung kim, age 22 — only a year younger than ilhoon and namjoon. he’s a university dropout, but only because he figured attending more than two years would leave him in debt for his entire life. he and namjoon have been friends for a long time — since middle school, he says. taehyung’s talents include needlework, speaking korean, various impressions, being able to learn things very quickly, and talking to people.

in all honesty, the interview was just so ilhoon could learn about the man. the necktie belt had intrigued him, that was all. nothing to do with taehyung’s perfect, glowing, tanned skin and the way his long hair falls into his eyes. nothing at all.

ilhoon “hires” taehyung and welcomes him behind the counter. he gives the other a stool as he takes his own office chair and goes back into leanback mode: feet up on the counter, book out, and total relaxation.

“is it break right now?” taehyung asks innocently.

“three people came in earlier, so there’s probably not a chance of anyone else coming in later. we can’t just leave since you never know what’ll surprise you, but nothing ever really does,” ilhoon explains.

“is that so…” taehyung pouts. he starts to lean back, but ilhoon throws his hand out to catch him.

“you’re on a stool, kid, don’t hurt yourself on your first day,” ilhoon says.

taehyung smiles sheepishly, sitting straight again. “right, sorry…” his smile turns into a boxy grin.

ilhoon stares at him. he shakes his head, blinking and pulling his hand away. he turns back to his book, his cheeks feeling slightly hotter. 

after that, taehyung sits quietly in his chair. ilhoon absolutely does not glance at taehyung out of the corner of his eye every now and then.

 

about a week and a half later, the two of them find themselves seeing about three more customers than usual everyday. 

it started two days after taehyung started working at the shop. taehyung had said something about the windows being dirty, causing ilhoon to reply that if he was so bothered, he should just clean them himself. two people had come in earlier that day anyway, so might as well clean up shop while they wait for a possible third person. however, right after taehyung was done, two girls had come into the shop to browse. ilhoon could see they were just there to check out taehyung, though.

after that, more girls had started coming into the shop. of course, the business people and the mothers and the senior citizens still came in, but younger girls had started to come in at the same time, mostly to ogle taehyung. at first ilhoon thought that it meant more publicity, meaning more money, but he soon started to realise that there was a problem.

“taehyung, you’re too handsome,” ilhoon says after their last customer leaves.

“oh, thank you?” taehyung replies, turning back from the rack he was organising.

“i didn’t…” ilhoon stutters, caught off guard, “it’s not a compliment, i’m criticising you. you’re attracting too many young people that are ‘just browsing’, and i’m pretty sure it’s starting to scare away our older customers who come in here to do business.”

“well, i can’t really help it. we can ask them to leave if they’re not gonna buy anything, but they’re the only ones that look at joonie’s personal designs, so i don’t really wanna turn them away…”

‘joonie’? ilhoon questions to himself, but quickly shakes it away. “what do you suppose we do then?”

taehyung is silent for a moment, probably thinking as he shuffles through the clothing rack. “maybe we could promote his clothes? i mean–” he pulls a hanger off the rack “–this is something girls our age would like, right? and–” he pulls another one out “–this one could work for more masculine people, right?”

the first hanger displays a short, white dress — probably knee-height length, ilhoon guesses — with ruffles on the collar, the wrists, and the hem. red flowers that resemble something like poinsettias decorate it, giving it an elegant look. the second is an outfit that would suit taehyung; the collar and cuffs of the deep blue dress shirt are ruffled, but they look looser than the ones on the dress. the material looks silky, and a loose tie is attached to the collar. the slacks are black and look roomy. ilhoon imagines different kinds of people wearing either outfit. 

“hmm, i guess we could try it,” ilhoon decides. “you have to promote to them, though.”

“deal!”

 

 

“minhyuk!” ilhoon calls out when he gets home. “minhyuk! hey, minhyukie-hyung!”

he hears, “i’m in the bedroom!” as he toes off his shoes. he rushes to the bedroom quickly.

minhyuk sits up in bed, putting his phone down when ilhoon opens the door. “what’s up?”

“here, try this on for me?” ilhoon hands him a bag. 

minhyuk takes it with curiosity. “what is it? did you make it?”

“no, namjoon did, but you know about his situation.”

“so why are you making me wear this?”

ilhoon groans. “stop asking so many questions and just put it on already!”

minhyuk chuckles, “okay, okay,” and gets up to go to the bathroom, ruffling ilhoon’s hair on the way. ilhoon swats his hand away, and minhyuk laughs. 

he comes out about ten minutes later. “how’s it fitting?” ilhoon asks.

“it’s all a little loose and the pants are a bit too long. i guess your friend was designing this with a taller person in mind, but otherwise it’s okay.” minhyuk replies. he does a little spin and poses.

ilhoon examines the look; it’s the same outfit taehyung had shown earlier. the dress shirt’s deep colour complements minhyuk’s skin tone, and the loose, silky material of the shirt shows off his defined muscles. the slacks were made of a material that hug his thighs just right, flaring off a little more around the calves, contrasting to the roomy look they had before. it’s perfect, really, and ilhoon makes a mental note to tell namjoon his compliments somehow. 

“you look good,” ilhoon says.

“i usually do,” minhyuk jokes, winking and making finger guns. 

ilhoon makes a face of disgust, but turns away to get his phone. “mind if i take a pic?”

“go ahead.” minhyuk poses as ilhoon takes a couple pictures. “are you giving me these clothes, by the way?” minhyuk asks.

“for 30 bucks, sure.”

ilhoon gets the clothes thrown at his face as soon as he looks up.

 

 

“wah, joonie’s clothes look really good on him! is he a model?” taehyung thumbs through the pictures of minhyuk with an awed expression.

“nah, he’s too short to be a model. he’s just my roommate, but he works as a gym trainer and has this really fit body, so i thought he’d be a good person to model for these clothes,” ilhoon says. looking at the pictures, he’s really lucky he’s got a borderline athlete as a roommate.

taehyung scoots his stool closer to ilhoon, making their arms touch. ilhoon feels a chill run up his spine and shivers. taehyung starts speaking, so he tries to focus on the picture taehyung is zooming in on.

“the pants are a little long and could be a tighter fit, but he seriously looks really good in this. i think if we use him as a model for the more masculine clothing, then people might be more interested in buying and trying it on themselves, right?” 

ilhoon agrees in his head, trying to focus more on the screen than taehyung’s arm sticking to his own. taehyung calls his name and he jumps, stuttering, “yeah, yeah, i can- i can ask, yeah.” his face heats up a little bit against his own accord.

taehyung finally moves away as he whoops, letting ilhoon breathe more comfortably. he sighs, then perks up as he realises something. “hey, taehyung, we can’t just sell namjoon’s clothing, like what if he’s not finished with something? then we wouldn’t be selling it at its best and that wouldn’t do well with customers.”

“ah, we should visit him then and ask about it! he’ll probably be really cool with it! let’s do it this weekend, yeah?” taehyung yells. 

ilhoon sighs again, but he’s starting to smile a little. “fine, but do you even know what hospital he’s in?”

taehyung shuts his mouth, wide-eyed. “i can’t even drive… you think you could take me?” 

they stare at each other, taehyung with a sheepish smile and ilhoon with a tired expression. in the end, ilhoon sighs one more time, signaling his defeat, and taehyung whoops again.

 

 

“why do you have so much leather in your wardrobe? and so many turtlenecks?” ilhoon complains, looking himself over in the mirror. “you never even dress in these kinda clothes anyway. you usually dress like a dad that just went through a divorce.”

“hey, you can’t say anything with the kinda stuff you wear out in public, like remember your knockoff brand name suit phase? you look pretty good in this anyway!” minhyuk retorts.

since the weekend had come and it was time for ilhoon to pick up taehyung, he asked his roommate to lend him some clothes. he ended up getting a black leather jacket, a thin, pale red turtleneck, black leather jeans, a red leather belt, and shoes that he swears michael jackson must’ve worn. it suits him okay, but it also seemed like way too much for him.

“i’ll have you know i paid good money for at least three of the brand name suits i have, minhyuk lee. at least they suit me better than this.”

minhyuk sighs, but smiles at ilhoon anyway. “what did you need to even dress up for anyway? you’re just seeing namjoon, aren’t you?”

ilhoon gulps. “oh, speaking of namjoon, can you try on all his other designs?”

“sure, but you’re avoiding the question.”

“is it wrong to want to look good when you see your friend and boss?” 

“yeah, but you don’t dress up for me or any of the other guys when they come over.”

“yeah, ‘cos i see you guys like every three days, you every day. and besides they come to hang out here, so what’s the point of dressing up at home?”

minhyuk pouts, “it just seems a little suspicious. ilhoon michael jung, what are you hiding from me? or whom?”

“look, the only people allowed to use my middle name are me, my parents, the Pope, and God himself, so… be quiet.” 

minhyuk gasps, “are you not my son? my kid? my child?” he throws a hand to his chest dramatically, falling onto the bed.

ilhoon scoffs. “it’s nothing, hyung, i just wanna look nice.”

minhyuk looks up from the bed, squinting. “i see through you, jung ilhoon-ssi, but i’ll let you off just this once.”

ilhoon laughs and says goodbye, finally heading out. he barely misses minhyuk’s hand kiss, much to his dismay.

 

 

when he gets there, ilhoon finds taehyung’s apartment a little sad and droopy. the brown colours that cover it have faded and it makes the sight of it look a little fuzzy. he texts taehyung (they exchanged phone numbers when taehyung first started working, but this is the only time ilhoon found it appropriate to actually contact the other) to notify him about his arrival and waits.

he’s not really sure of what taehyung will think of his clothing choice when taehyung sees him. he usually doesn’t care what people think; he thinks he’s quite the trendsetter if anything. these clothes aren’t even his though, and taehyung, is very unpredictable with what he wears. one day he’s dapper, the next he’s wearing baggy clothing, the day after it’s a mix, and so on. it makes him nervous in a very odd way he can’t explain.

soon enough, ilhoon hears a knock on the window. he unlocks the door to let taehyung in. they greet each other, but ilhoon is more focused on what taehyung’s wearing. a baggy striped dress shirt with almost unnecessarily long sleeves, tight black skinny jeans, and black combat boots. the thing that catches his eye most, though, is taehyung’s earring, which looks like a set of chains that line the shell of his left ear. the longest chain, dangling from the lobe of his ear, reaches just above his shoulder. it glints silver and gold. 

overall, taehyung has left ilhoon stunned.

ilhoon only realises he’s been staring for too long when their eyes meet. he jumps and clears his throat, turning back to the wheel and starting up the car. he can hear taehyung giggle quietly, and he feels embarrassed knowing it probably had something to do with how hot his ears felt.

 

 

“hyung!” 

taehyung practically runs to namjoon’s side as soon as they get to his room. he reminds ilhoon of a puppy.

“ah, taehyung-ah, it’s been a while!” namjoon says in korean. taehyung also replies in korean, rambling about how he’s been and how the last few weeks have been since he came down.

ilhoon stands awkwardly at the door, not really knowing how to add in. it’s the first time he’s heard either of them speak korean, nevermind in a full conversation. he and namjoon have only spoken to each other in english, even if they both were fluent in korean, and he’s pretty sure taehyung doesn’t even know he can speak. 

he decides to clear his throat.

namjoon perks up and notices ilhoon. “hey, you must’ve brought taehyung here!” he says, still in korean. 

“yeah, don’t expect me to start driving you around, though,” ilhoon responds in english. he sees taehyung make a surprised expression.

“i didn’t know you knew korean, ilhoon!” taehyung exclaims, switching to english.

“you never asked.”

“good point.” he turns back to namjoon and speaks in korean again, “anyway, ilhoon and i came to ask if we could promote and sell your designs!”

“my designs?” namjoon says, “of course you can, i put them up on the racks for a reason. just so long as you don’t sell any of the clothes i store in the back, it’s all good.”

“we can tailor it to fit the customer too, right? we just need to make sure there aren’t any lawsuits because of your creative license over the clothes,” ilhoon asks.

namjoon laughs. “yeah, yeah, it’s fine, as long as you don’t sell it as if you made it yourself, i guess.”

ilhoon raises his right hand and places the other over his heart. “i solemnly swear that i would never discredit your hard work for my own benefit.” taehyung and namjoon both laugh, and ilhoon smiles. “anyway, get better soon. i’d say i can’t believe you broke both of your legs, but it was only a matter of time with how careless you are.” 

“aww, you do care,” namjoon coos.

“only because you don’t, don’t think too much of it.” 

namjoon pouts and turns to taehyung to stage whisper, “don’t feel too bad if he gets a little mean, it just means he loves you.” taehyung nods in understanding.

“hey, i can hear you, don’t make me break something else of yours,” ilhoon says. 

“see,” namjoon snickers and taehyung giggles along. ilhoon huffs.

 

“ilhoon?”

“hm? what’s up?”

“take care of taehyung for me, okay?”

“… jeez, don’t sound like you’re gonna die in a week.”

“hey, i’m serious”

“i know… i will.”

“thanks.”

“… ahh, it’s only about two more months in the hospital, dude, please act like you’re gonna be alive by then, you’re seriously giving me anxiety, aish…”

“hah, alright, alright…” 

 

 

taehyung ends up promoting namjoon’s designs really well. ilhoon stays behind the counter, watching as taehyung converses with the (still) few customers that come in to “browse” and getting them to buy designs. by the end of the week, they sell five dresses and one suit, making about $200.

“ahh, i’m so glad other people like joonie’s designs, they’re really so nice,” taehyung says dreamily, looking through the racks and examining each of namjoon’s designs.

ilhoon responds with a small “yeah…”, distracted by taehyung’s figure. he’s not sure what he’s been noticing about taehyung lately, but he can’t bring himself to completely forget about it. he can’t tell what these feelings are, and he kind of doesn’t want to know.

“taehyung, did you change something? about your fashion, maybe?” he asks anyway.

“no? i guess today i wore skinny jeans instead of slacks or something roomier, but i had nothing else to wear, so,” taehyung replies.

so that’s what it was, skinny jeans, again, ilhoon thinks.

“by the way, we earned extra money because we sold joonie’s designs right?” taehyung asks.

“yeah, about $200 worth.”

“you wanna take a lunch break then?”

“isn’t it already lunch break?” ilhoon says, starting to reach under the counter for the sandwich he packed.

“i mean like, outside lunch. like going out to eat lunch break,” taehyung explains.

“with the money we earned?”

“yeah, i mean we have extra so–”

“taehyung, tsk tsk. when we have extra money, we need to save it, especially in this day and age. let’s consider this: we get at least three customers per day, right? right, and each customer pays $30-50, right? right, so if we average it out to $40 per customer, then that means we get $120 per day, which means $840 in a week, and out of that $840, 30% goes to rent and bills, which is $252. subtracting that from the $840, there’s only $588 left, and 15% of that goes into materials and supplies to actually do our jobs, which is $88.20, which leaves us with $499.80. luckily, namjoon is an equal opportunity boss and believes that all three of us should get an equal cut. before you came, we split it 50/50, but now with you to consider, it’s actually a 33% cut all around of what remains, so we all get only about $165 per week by the end of the year we get around $8580, which is not enough to get us by; we’re practically broke! an extra $200 is everything taehyung, we must savour it!”

taehyung is silent for a moment. he eventually responds, sighing, “ilhoon, 200 more dollars is only going to give us an extra $40, so we might as well spend it on food, right?”

ilhoon squints. “i already have a sandwich here–” he waves around his flimsy, thin sandwich to emphasise “–so there’s no point in going out anyway. if you really want outside world food, go out and get it yourself with your own money.”

taehyung huffs, pouting. “i want to eat with you, though.”

ilhoon freezes. he brings the sandwich to his chest n rolls his chair back. “well…” he starts, “i ain’t budgin’ from this seat, so just, get delivery or something…” he looks down at his feet, feeling taehyung’s eyes on him. he only looks up when he hears taehyung sigh, again.

“you know, if you sit for too long you’ll get back and butt problems.” taehyung says and heads to the backroom. ilhoon’s eyes follow him until he disappears through the doorway. 

ilhoon feels like he may have been too rejecting, but he really had no idea why taehyung insisted on going with him. taehyung had two legs of his own, and probably had friends of his own too. there’s no reason for him to need ilhoon to go with him other than conveniency. even so, it made ilhoon feel weird, butterflies starting to appear in his stomach. something in the back of his mind starts to miss taehyung, even though he only went into the backroom, but he dismisses it quickly, ruffling his own hair.

he looks at his turkey sandwich with disgust and puts it back where he packed it under the counter, deciding that he lost his appetite.

 

 

“i’m pretty sure he was asking you out on a date,” minhyuk says after ilhoon tells him about his day.

“no way,” ilhoon dismisses quickly, “it was just conveniency.”

“or maybe he really does want to be your friend? or maybe something more?”

“no and no. we’ve only known each other about two weeks, and i talk to him enough. i was just the closest person.”

“maybe he just wants to get to know you better. besides, people can fall in love within a short amount of time.”

“oh, like you with that one guy you started training just last week? the one that’s the same age and same height and is so funny and kinda cute and-”

“hey,” minhyuk cuts him off, “everyone’s different. maybe he’s the same as me, or maybe it took more than an hour, like oh, say, two weeks?”

ilhoon gives him a look. “all i’m saying is that a guy like taehyung kim isn’t gonna like a guy like me.”

that makes minhyuk silent. he realises that it might’ve sounded a little self-deprecating, which wasn’t the case. he tries to communicate with his eyes that he means it in a different way, because that kind of thing worries minhyuk. luckily, minhyuk raises one of his eyebrows, which means he got the message. ilhoon sighs in relief.

“you know,” minhyuk starts again, “maybe you should consider how you’re feeling about him. i think it might just be that thing where you’re having a crush but you don’t think you do because you’re cool or whatever.”

“i do not-” 

minhyuk cuts him off again, “just shh. try, like, closing your eyes and imagining yourself on a date with him. if you don’t like it, then fine, but otherwise…” 

ilhoon gives him a look that says, you’re nuts. minhyuk says back, just do it, you might be surprised. ilhoon replies, you and your romantic ass… minhyuk gives him a sharper look, and ilhoon finally gives in, reluctantly closing his eyes.

(he imagines an amusement park date. both he and taehyung are smiling. his neck is straining a little because, he feels, he’s been looking up at taehyung all day — of course the guy had to be an inch or two taller.

taehyung wins him a stuffed hyena at a booth; an odd gift from an odd guy. “it’s like you!” he justifies.

“what part of it?” ilhoon asks, examining the stuffed toy.

“your laugh, maybe?”

ilhoon squints up at him and does the fakest laugh he can muster. “what animal do you think of yourself as, hm?”

“a tiger! because it’s strong and fierce!”

“oh really? i think you’re a monkey, ‘cos you’re funny and your limbs are unnaturally long.”

taehyung gasps and snatches the hyena from ilhoon’s hands, keeping it away from him. ilhoon tries to grab it back, because even though it’s a weird gift, taehyung still won it for him, so it’s his. 

they fight for a while until taehyung seems to relent, his arms relaxing. ilhoon finally catches hold of the stuffed animal, but then taehyung pulls him in. they’re now face to face, almost chest to chest if not for the hyena in their hands.

“ilhoon,” taehyung says quietly.

“what?” he says back.

taehyung leans in, a hand reaching up to cup ilhoon’s cheek. ilhoon closes eyes, starting to lean in too-)

ilhoon’s eyes shoot open and a sound from deep within his soul comes out of his mouth. he pants heavily, almost in a cold sweat, and looks at minhyuk, who looks like he just got scared. 

“woah, woah, what happened, ilhoon-ah?” minhyuk asks, still a little shaken.

ilhoon furrows his eyebrows and glares at the other. “you’re dumb,” he seethes.

minhyuk scoffs and sputters at that. ilhoon lies down in his bed and turns to face the wall, facing opposite of minhyuk. minhyuk tries to get him to say something to him, giving up after a few minutes and leaving the room with a big sigh.

hearing the door shut, ilhoon stuffs his face into his pillow and screams. no way, he thinks, no fucking way.

 

 

ilhoon has to be lucky that he is a great actor and that he’s also great at tuning out things like feelings because he had to work with taehyung the next day, and the day after, and the days to come after that.

it’s not awkward between them because ilhoon makes the effort to be like he’s always been. of course, it comes with the realisation that 1) taehyung kim makes his heart skip a beat when he’s close to him and 2) he may have been a little cold to the younger, but that’s just the way the cookie crumbles. 

though, if he tries to be a little more open towards taehyung within the next few days, taehyung probably wouldn’t know because he hadn’t known ilhoon long enough. 

another week passes and another few outfits are sold. this week, they make $250, and taehyung asks ilhoon out for lunch again, with ilhoon refusing again (for more reasons than trying to save money this time). taehyung is more playful in response to ilhoon’s rejection this time, staying behind the counter on his stool instead of going to the backroom. 

there’s a couple of inches between his and taehyung’s arm. eating his sandwich quietly, ilhoon thinks, in the back of his mind, he wouldn’t mind if taehyung scooted a bit closer. it’d make his heart race for sure, though, so he dismisses the thought. 

ilhoon had to admit that the atmosphere was nice. both of them were facing towards the shop’s entrance, seemingly attentive towards any customers that may come in. they munched on their food quietly, but, somehow, ilhoon could tell taehyung was feeling a little happy, which made him feel happy. it was a nice feeling to know that his junior coworker was eating well and enjoying his time with ilhoon.

it continued like this for another few weeks, and, eventually, it became an end-of-the-week tradition. ilhoon was content with his relationship with taehyung, as well as the extra money being earned. by the end of their fifth week of lunch break celebrations, it had already been two months since he met taehyung.

ilhoon wonders what it would be like when namjoon came back. imagines it being a more happy occasion, until he thinks about this time between him and taehyung — just the two of them — would end. 

at that thought, something bitter churns in the pit of his stomach, but like with anything else, he tries to dismiss it as quickly as possible.

 

 

next week comes and it’s minhyuk’s birthday. ilhoon wakes up around the time minhyuk would have just left for a morning run, which was earlier than usual for him. he shuffles to the kitchen after washing up, preparing to make breakfast for his roommate.

with what they have at home, he ends up making rolled egg with spam and slices up some fruits and vegetables to make it more balanced like how minhyuk likes it. he wraps up the food and quickly writes a birthday card for minhyuk, placing it under the plate. ilhoon shuffles back to the bedroom when he’s done, going to get ready for work.

by the time ilhoon has picked out a coat, he hears their front door open and close, meaning minhyuk was back. he takes his coat off the hanger and heads to the kitchen.

minhyuk is there, looking at ilhoon’s plate of food with a dropped jaw. “wow, ilhoonie, i’m really touched… you made all this, right?”

“maybe,” ilhoon responds. he laughs a bit when minhyuk hits his arm lightly. 

minhyuk finally notices the card and picks it up. “you know,” he starts, “that guy that’s the same age and height as me that i train at the gym? apparently he’s only a week older than me, on the 22nd. cute, right? we could probably compromise for a day and just celebrate both our birthdays then.” he’s smiling fondly at the card, probably admiring (what’s ilhoon thinks is) the accurate drawing of himself.

“what, are you guys dating already?” ilhoon asks.

“no, but it’s nice to fantasize sometimes. i mean, it means that we’re the same sign across like five different astrological fields, right? not that i really believe that stuff, just interesting. besides, do you even know your guy’s birthday?”

“don’t just refer to him as ‘my guy’, he has a name, you know. and of course i know when his birthday is, i interviewed him.”

looking up from the card, minhyuk raises an eyebrow. “when is it then?”

ilhoon raises a finger and opens his mouth, but nothing comes to mind. he realises that he had never asked for taehyung’s birthday, so he closes his mouth. minhyuk raises his other eyebrow and smirks, looking back down to the card. “whatever,” he says, “i can ask whenever i want.”

minhyuk hums, picking up the plate and walking to the dining table with a smirk. ilhoon huffs. he wishes minhyuk “happy birthday” one more time and says “goodbye” as he heads off to the shop.

 

“ilhoon!”

ilhoon turns away from unlocking the shop door to see taehyung running towards him. “hey,” he says, a little surprised and a little happy.

“ah, i finally caught you!”

“caught me?”

“yeah, you’re always at the shop long before me, so i thought you woke up really early. i wanted to see you open up the shop, but it’s hard for me to wake up, so i could never arrive this early, but i guess today’s my lucky day!” taehyung grins wide. making ilhoon sigh with endearment.

“well, i do wake up around this time, but i’m not usually fully awake around this time.” ilhoon lets go of the lock and turns his body to face taehyung, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “today was my roommate’s birthday, though, so i woke up earlier to make him something.”

“oh, that’s so sweet of you!”

ilhoon feels his chest puff up in pride. “it’s nothing, though. i’ve been doing things like that for him since we moved in together five years ago.” 

“oh, i see,” taehyung responds. 

ilhoon takes a minute to just admire taehyung. his grin had turned into a more mellow smile, making his red cheeks puff up in a certain way. it was colder during winter the past two years, so taehyung must’ve been cold. 

“do you wanna grab some coffee before we open up?” ilhoon blurts out. it takes a second before he realises what he’d proposed, but taehyung lights up.

“i’d love to!” he shouts, and grabs ilhoon’s hand, walking briskly in one direction.

“where are you going?” ilhoon questions. taehyung stops abruptly. ilhoon bumps into his arm. making him stumble back. taehyung turns back to him.

“i don’t know, actually,” taehyung says blankly, “do you know a place?”

ilhoon sighs. “yeah, just follow me to my car.”

taehyung gives him a small “ok” and bounces with him to his car. ilhoon has to stop himself from even thinking about cooing.

 

taehyung hums as he sips his iced coffee. he seemed colder earlier, but i guess he wasn’t cold enough to off put the sweeter options for coffee. he’s scrolling through his phone, unaware that ilhoon is looking at him rather intensely.

he has a lot of sharp features, ilhoon notes. his jaw, his chin, his gaze, even his eyebrows. taehyung’s eyes are big — ilhoon can see the reflection of his phone screen clearly through them — and his lashes are long. the red is gone from his cheeks, leaving the original image of smooth, tan skin. his usually shaggy hair has been styled into a beret, which ilhoon can appreciate. 

not that there’s anything about taehyung he can’t appreciate.

ilhoon hopes he’s not being too creepy, just staring at taehyung. he wonders if the other noticed, but taehyung continues to sip and scroll, so his doubts are cast aside. 

he starts to think about what minhyuk said, and eventually decides to ask, “hey, taehyung, when’s your birthday?”

taehyung finally looks up from his phone and looks up at ilhoon with his big, shining eyes. ilhoon’s heart skips a beat.

“december 30th,” taehyung says with a small smile. “and you?”

“october 4th,” ilhoon replies, “you sure have a late birthday.”

taehyung chuckles. “yeah, but if you think about it, i was probably conceived around valentine’s day, so that’s kinda romantic. i also coulda been a christmas baby if i came out early.”

“i didn’t really want to think about your conception, but okay.”

“your birthday is close to my best friend’s, you know. you guys are like a little over a week apart.”

“oh? when’s their birthday?”

“his birthday’s october 13th, he was even born on a friday!” taehyung smiles wide, talking about his best friend. 

ilhoon thinks about whether taehyung would talk about him to his best friend. maybe smiling that big, too.

“he must be a little unlucky then,” ilhoon remarks, “but that reminds me — my roommate trains this guy and has a crush on him ‘cos their the same age and the same height and some other reasons, but he told me today that the guy is exactly a week older than him. funny, right?”

“yeah, but i think it’s kinda cute too. kinda like fate. maybe they’re star-crossed lovers?”

“he said something like that, actually.” they both laugh a little. 

the conversation continues to flow like this. it’s smooth and taehyung has put his phone down entirely, mouth not even really close to the straw. this was probably the most they’ve talked to each other on a more personal level. 

ilhoon’s chest feels warm just talking this comfortably with taehyung. for once, he lets himself be fond and endeared. just for this moment.

 

 

with namjoon’s clothes being more spring designs, less purchases were being made for them, and their profit gradually went back to how it was originally. two or three outfits were still sold by the end of the week, so they still earn extra, but it’s nothing big.

ilhoon and taehyung still have their end-of-the-week tradition, but since the small talk over coffee they had, they started talking more. the silence from before was replaced with small talk, which made ilhoon feel a little more warmer than the quiet did. his daily sandwich tastes better with the small talk, not as bland as it usually is.

next week is christmas, as well as taehyung’s birthday. ilhoon knows he doesn’t need to do anything, but with how much closer they’ve been getting recently, he thought it would be nice if he did something. 

his first thought was a confession, but he dismissed it quickly. as casual as he’s been with his feelings lately, he’s still sort of in denial, so absolutely not. his next option would be something material. he doesn’t have much money to spare, and he doubts that even with his crafter’s hands, he’d be able to make something good enough for taehyung. he could also do what he’s been doing for minhyuk’s birthday, but minhyuk’s known him long enough to know his personality and therefore his effort level, so he thinks that’s also beat.

in the end, taehyung ends up asking ilhoon what he wants for christmas. 

“me?” ilhoon asks.

“you,” taehyung confirms.

ilhoon gives it a thought, but comes up mostly blank. “i don’t really want anything for christmas. maybe some high quality clothing, but with our salary i wouldn’t expect you to get anything. in fact, i’m saying you should not, and will not, even think about getting me something gucci.”

“it sounds like you really want it, though,” taehyung says, giggling a little. ilhoon gives him a look and he shakes his head. “okay, i won’t give you anything expensive, then. just show up at the shop in a dress shirt on christmas, okay?”

“why?”

“just do it, okay?” taehyung pouts. ilhoon, who is weak, sighs in defeat. 

“okay, i will,” he says.

 

 

“what do you think i should get him for christmas?” minhyuk asks ilhoon.

“get whom?” ilhoon asks back, staring up at the ceiling from his bed.

“eun- the guy i train. the one with everything in common with me.”

“oh, that guy. i don’t know him so i don’t know.”

minhyuk groans, inadvertently expressing exactly how ilhoon feels. 

“you know you don’t have to get him something. he’s just the guy that pays you, that’s all. you can just give him a card or something if you’re really that worried about it,” ilhoon says to minhyuk, but it sounds like something he should be telling himself.

“yeah, i know, but he’s just… just… special, i guess? i just want to give him something that, like… expresses my gratitude for him? or something like that. nothing to really give away how i feel, just a… thing,” minhyuk replies.

i certainly know how you feel, ilhoon thinks, sighing. “i don’t know… maybe you can give him your old clothes? you guys sound like you’re the same size, so just wash the clothes you might think look good on him that you don’t want anymore and give it to him in a bag.”

minhyuk sits up in his bed, turning to ilhoon. “that’s a great idea! you’re a genius!” he swings his feet and plants them on the floor, making to get up. he relaxes, though. “but,” minhyuk sighs, “i either already donated my old clothes or all the clothes in my closet are ones that i wear, so that idea’s a bust.” he falls back onto the bed, arms spread wide. 

ilhoon is the same, but that idea wouldn’t work anyway, since taehyung’s big and long, unlike ilhoon.

“i don’t get it,” minhyuk says, “i’m usually good at this kinda thing, but all of a sudden, just because of this one person, i’m completely stumped.” he pauses, then starts to fuss. “ughh! what’s wrong with me?!”

i question that myself, ilhoon thinks. he’s stumped too, and he’d usually go to minhyuk for help, but minhyuk himself is also in a rut. he sighs, not knowing what to do.

 

 

in the end, ilhoon spends about $9 on a pair of fuzzy socks. it doesn’t “express his gratitude”, as minhyuk had put it, but he guesses it’d be enough for someone like taehyung.

he remembers to put on a dress shirt, deciding to pick the wine red one he bought earlier this year. he pairs it with an off-grey pinstriped suit. it suits him and the season, so he admires himself in the mirror for a few minutes, only getting embarrassed when he remembers who he’s dressing up for. 

he takes a long black coat and heads out, not forgetting the socks. he says goodbye to minhyuk, who wolf-whistles in response. his face feels a little hotter, but that could just be the cold (it’s not, of course).

ilhoon arrives at the shop and opens up for business. he takes off his coat and his blazer, setting them on a hook behind the counter. he prepares for the day, not expecting many customers. they’re probably spending time with the people they love, he figures. the thought makes him smile to himself a little.

by the time he’s done, taehyung comes in. he starts shedding his big coat, hanging it on a coat hanger near the door. he’s not wearing a hat today, instead letting his hair fall over his eyes almost alluringly, and his earrings are as long as ever. instead of a dress shirt, he’s wearing a fitting cream coloured turtleneck; it hugs his figure well and the neck reaches up to his mouth. his jeans are also form fitting, leading down to a pair of leather boots. when he looks up at ilhoon, he smiles softly and waves, showing off how much of a sweater paw he has. 

ilhoon waves back with a soft smile, thinking he looks a little enchanting. “merry christmas,” he says.

“merry merry christmas!” taehyung shouts, grinning wide. “you’re wearing a dress shirt today.”

“you did tell me to.”

“yeah, i did… i guess i didn’t know how nice you looked in one. you usually wear sweaters over t-shirts, so…” 

ilhoon’s chest starts to feel warm at taehyung’s words. he rubs it absentmindedly. “thanks, i guess.”

taehyung hums. “should i give you your present now?”

“ah, well, before you do, i have my own present for you, so let me give it to you first,” ilhoon says.

he takes a deep breath and takes the socks out from under the counter. “i didn’t really know what else to give you but, well, merry christmas.” he holds the socks out.

taehyung looks genuinely surprised, in a good way, so ilhoon takes this as a win. “wow, thank you! i love fuzzy socks!”

“thought so,” ilhoon smiled, “so what do you have for me?”

“ah–” taehyung holds up a paper bag “-it’s this.” he reaches into the bag. “a tie.” he pulls it out.

it’s a black tie with simple musical designs on it in gold. ilhoon raises his eyebrows. 

“it’s not much, but i wanted to give you something i like a lot. i have a collection of ties, so you know… anyway the reason i asked you to wear a dress shirt was because i wanted to put this on you myself.”

ilhoon gulps. blinks. “w-why…?” he stammers.

“it’s sentimental for me, to give you a tie like this, so i just wanted to… i can right?”

ilhoon’s heart has started to pound, blood rushing to his ears. “you… do what you want, i guess.”

taehyung lights up and quickly goes behind the counter. he sits on the stool and gestures for ilhoon to come closer. ilhoon breathes in deeply and takes a step closer. 

like this, taehyung’s face was level with his chest. he hopes his heart isn’t so loud that taehyung could hear.

quickly, taehyung gets the tie around ilhoon’s neck, gently pulling him closer to have better control with the tie. ilhoon can feel his pulse pounding in his ears, but he tries to stay as calm as possible. taehyung works his hands to tie the tie, knuckles brushing against ilhoon’s chest every few seconds. ilhoon’s surprised he isn’t jumpier. 

ilhoon can feel how intense taehyung’s gaze is, being directed on his own chest. his heart’s beating like crazy and he can feel himself shaking slightly, but he breathes as much as he can. 

“done,” taehyung says quietly, almost whispering. ilhoon lets out his biggest breath yet, stopping suddenly when he feels taehyung’s hand smooth over his tie — over his chest. 

he looks taehyung in the eyes, suddenly feeling a rush. taehyung’s hand grabs the tie and pulls gently, leaving only a centimeter between his and ilhoon’s face.

ilhoon’s breathing becomes shallow as he feels blood starting to rush to his face. he can’t look away from taehyung’s eyes, and he sees him look down his face, then back up. taehyung’s other hand comes up to caress his cheek, and it feels so cold in comparison to his heated face.

“ilhoon,” taehyung whispers. ilhoon can feel his warm breath against his skin. he cups his hand on ilhoon’s cheek. ilhoon exhales, breath shivering. 

“what?” ilhoon whispers back. his hands are shaking, but he doesn’t know what to do with them.

taehyung’s hand drops from his cheek to his hand, bringing it up to taehyung’s shoulder. taehyung does the same to ilhoon’s other hand. ilhoon grabs on tightly.

“ilhoon, i can give you one more gift,” taehyung whispers again.

ilhoon sighs shakily. “so?” he starts to close his eyes, leaning in ever so slightly. 

“what are you waiting for?”

when ilhoon closes his eyes and leans in this time, he doesn’t want to open them again, feeling how real and light taehyung’s kiss is. he pushes a little more, his hands slowly reaching for the back of taehyung’s head, fingers gliding through soft hair. he brings taehyung in closer, wanting to feel more pressure between their lips. he tilts his head more, bringing taehyung’s head opposite, and it becomes just a little deeper. slowly, their lips move against each other. ilhoon’s hands are still shaking. taehyung’s hands have moved to his waist. they kiss softly, not really knowing what to do with themselves.

they break apart just as slowly as they started. ilhoon releases his hold on taehyung’s head, moving his hands back down to the other’s shoulders. taehyung’s hands remains where they are on ilhoon’s waist. 

when ilhoon opens his eyes, taehyung is already looking at him. his heart is pounding and his mind wants to do it again, so he does, faster this time. it gets a little more heated as ilhoon moves his hands through taehyung’s hair, taehyung’s hands moving from his waist, up his ribs, to his back, and back to his waist. there’s more heaviness to their breath, and they break apart just as fast as they started, panting slightly.

ilhoon looks taehyung in the eyes as his face continues to get hotter. taehyung smirks.

“merry, merry christmas.”

 

 

there’s not much to say about what happened afterwards. a customer came in, making them jump away from each other, letting each other go completely. ilhoon’s mind was racing, but he still found it in himself to comment about how messy taehyung’s hair looked as he talked to the customer, to which taehyung said it was his fault anyway. for the most part, the atmosphere went back to how it was before anything happened. 

five days passed and it was the 30th, taehyung’s birthday. ilhoon didn’t prepare anything special, just figured that a happy birthday wish would be enough this year. 

he’d decided to wear a sweater and his jeans like he usually does. taehyung dressed casual as well, wearing a cardigan, a dress shirt underneath, tucked into wide pants. he even wore glasses today. the only thing that remained the same no matter what were taehyung’s earrings.

the 30th of december happened to be a saturday, which meant taehyung and ilhoon had another of their end-of-the-week tradition.

“jimin made my lunch today!” taehyung exclaimed. he opened up his lunch containers and set them all out on the counter. ilhoon nodded his head in approval.

“mine’s the same ol’ thing — turkey sandwich,” ilhoon said. he waves its flimsy shape around for emphasis. taehyung hums in sympathy.

before taking his first bite, taehyung turns around to look at ilhoon. ilhoon looks back, taking a bite of his sandwich.

“hyung,” taehyung says.

“mm?” ilhoon questions, muffled by the sandwich in his mouth.

“hyung, do you like me?” 

ilhoon stops chewing. after a minute he decides to just swallow, but it doesn’t go down as well as he expected. he punches chest a few times to make sure the bite goes down, then turns back to taehyung.

“what?!”

“do you like me?”

taehyung’s eyes are wide and shining, looking for an answer. ilhoon bursts out laughing, making taehyung pout.

“why are you laughing? i’m serious.”

“that’s what’s funny!” ilhoon laughs again.

“ahh, just tell me!” taehyung says, furrowing his eyebrows.

“you’d think,” ilhoon says between laughs, “you’d think the guy who kissed me twice on christmas-” he laughs “-you’d think he’d get a clue!” ilhoon bursts into laughter again.

taehyung looks frustrated. “so what’s your answer?”

“yes,” ilhoon says, wiping tears from his eyes, “it’s yes, you dumbass.”

ilhoon feels the breath knocked out of him as taehyung hugs him suddenly. 

“i like you too,” taehyung says, muffled into ilhoon’s shoulder. ilhoon cracks a smile.

“yeah, i do too.”

**Author's Note:**

> sorry if u didn't really like the end but i did so that's all that matters also sorry if u thought they were ooc but u kno
> 
> i hyped this up so much but honestly as i was posting this i suddenly got embarrassed of myself but anyway thanks for reading y'all i rly do appreciate ur daring spirit
> 
> in case u wanna tell me how awful i am for writing this or other things i'm @differentdiff on like everything n if i'm not there i don't have it lol
> 
> i wouldn't count on it but hopefully i'll finish a wip for an actual ship lmao


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